When my mother died from a ruptured appendix, the State took my brother and me away from my Dad because he would get drunk. We were separated and put into foster homes. I was only about five years old and lost the memory of my brother. First I was taken to a home in Boston, but soon I was moved to Plymouth. After that, I was placed in the State School in Wrentham. I stayed in that school about 20 years.

It was not easy growing up there. They were very strict at first, but later on it improved. We had to make our beds in the morning, line up outside, and wait to go down to breakfast until they rang a loud bell.

No visitors ever came to see me, and it was very hard. But I did make it through all those years. I joined a choir and sang at both masses. I also joined the glee club and the band. One thing I wish is that I had paid more attention in classes because I would have had a better job in life. I did learn how to read well, at least.

They trained us in farm work. Sometimes I put the machine on the cows to milk them and then carried the pails to be pasteurized. We had vegetables on the farm, too.

When I got older, on Saturdays I worked for local people who took us out for the day to work for them. I was lucky because I was good with my hands. For a few months, I worked for one lady, helping her in the garden with weeds that were everywhere. Next, I worked for a man who had an antique store. Two of us from the school polished all the antique furniture.

Then, I met a different man who had seen me working at the antique store and wanted to hire me. He owned a woodworking shop and was a very nice man to work for. I enjoyed learning the woodworking. I learned how to sand cabinets and spray doors with polyurethane. It became easy after a while. They taught me how to run a table saw, and I also helped to install cabinets.

The owner got permission for me to leave the school and work for him full time. I was under State School rules for one year until they decided I could work on my own. After 20 years I could leave the State School for good because of that nice man. I stayed with his shop until I got my discharge papers.

But a funny thing happened just before I left. Some of the boys worked on a truck that went to the State School at Taunton. They told me that they had seen a boy who looked like me. I found out that he was my brother, George Mylen. I couldn't believe that when I was getting out of the Wrentham State School, he was getting out of the Taunton State School. We met after all those years. We both had been through very hard times in the State Schools.

My work changed because the woodworking shop was closing. It took a few years and more jobs, but I ended up in Worcester and got a job at Norton Company, in 1968. I stayed with that company 32 years until I retired in 2000. I feel very proud that I held onto a job for 32 years and accomplished this in life after all I went through.